Happy Birthday to [lastfm]Britney Spears[/lastfm], as the singer hits a milestone 30th birthday today. Love her or not, Brit has been a part of our culture since the age of 11 when she first appeared on the Mickey Mouse Club. To help celebrate, we’re counting down 10 of our favorite Britney moments over the years.Star Search Performance

In the early 90’s, before joining MMC, a very young Britney Spears appeared on the popular show Star Search. Unfortunately, she lost to Marty Thomas that night. Though that might have been the peak of his career, it was only the beginning for little Ms. Spears.

Mickey Mouse Club

Not only was the Mickey Mouse Club the coolest club on television, it was a breeding ground for the next generation of pop artists and actors. Britney rocked that Disney stage with [lastfm]Justin Timberlake[/lastfm], [lastfm]Christina Aguilera[/lastfm], [lastfm]JC Chasez[/lastfm], Ryan Gosling and more.

Hit Me Baby, One More Time

Britney’s first single and music video for, “Hit Me Baby One More Time” re-introduced America to Ms. Spears and really gave school uniforms and pigtails the comeback they were looking for.

Rolling Stone Cover

In 1999 Brit covered the popular rock mag Rolling Stone but the teen’s bare-underwear cover had parents up in arms. Come on guys – she’s holding a teletubby. It marked the first phase of the singer trying to ditch her sweet southern girl next door routine. (Remember, she’s “not that innocent”). See the cover.

Oops I Ripped Off My Outfit

In 2000 Britney performed at the 2000 MTV VMA’s with a mash-up of “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” and “Oops I Did It Again”. Halfway through the performance she ripped off her suit to uncover nude colored, sparkle infused underwear.

Crossroads

Everyone knows you’re not a true musician until you’ve tried your hand at a feature film, and 2002’s Crossroads was Britney’s first foray into silver screen stardom. Although the film wasn’t a huge success, critics admitted that Spears had some acting chops.

WHY Would You Break Up With Justin?!

In 2002 Britney and 3-year boyfriend Justin Timberlake called it quits, and girls around the country started to question the pop singers sanity. I mean, really. Justin came back with a solo album and a revenge song meant for Britney – “Cry Me A River”.

Kiss Heard Round The World

In 2003 Brit returned to the MTV VMA stage for another controversial performance, this time for sharing a kiss with Madonna and Christina Aguilera during a cover of “Like A Virgin”. In a moment of genius live video editing, we get a close up of J Timberlake trying to keep it together the second after the lip lock happens.

Downward Spiral

In 2004 Britney married a high school friend in Vegas, and it was all downhill from there. Next thing we knew we had Kevin Federline, babies, shaved heads, hospital calls, smashed windows, and bizarre behavior. We also had a 4 year gap without a new album, which left pop music fans everywhere wondering “What happened to Britney”? But, seriously…what happened there, girl?

It’s Britney B*tch

In 2007 Britney returned to music with her 5th studio album Blackout which featured the single “Gimme More” that starts with the opening line “It’s Britney B*tch” – something of a comeback anthem for the star who had been to Kevin Federline and back and made it out alive. Since then we’ve had two additional albums, with more sure to come.